Don’t worry you haven’t gone quackers – there WAS a giant rubber duck sailing up the Thames

A giant 50ft rubber duck has swapped bath time for a trip up the Thames after setting sail from Canary Wharf.

The bright yellow water bird shocked City workers in the capital during rush hour this morning, looming large over London’s main financial district.

The duck floats under Tower Bridge ( Picture: Lewis Whyld/PA )

Sitting pretty ahead of its voyage through central London, the unmissable giant duck attracted plenty of attention from employees in nearby office buildings.

‘It stopped work for ten minutes today… probably cost the country millions,’ one spectator told Metro.

Duck goes wild in London (Picture: Lewis Whyld/ PA)

The PR stunt is the brainchild of online bingo company Jackpotjoy.com ahead of the launch of its Facebook FUNdation bursary.

It hopes to encourage Britons to have more fun in December, granting funds and rewards for daft and entertaining ideas.

The duck was just too big for the bath (Picture: Lewis Whyld/PA)

‘We wanted to do everything we could to cheer up the nation in time for the festive period, so what else could we do but release a 50ft high, 60ft wide inflatable duck onto the River Thames?!,’ it said.

‘The “Fundation” mascot sets sail at 8.30am, after being wished ‘Bon Voyage’ by the Queen of Bingo and will take us on a fun-filled journey through London passing such iconic landmarks as the Gherkin and Tower of London.’

Rubber duck on the loose (Picture: Twitter / dcmonk)

The yellow bingo duck certainly appears to have brightened up the morning of Twitter users, with Thames trending this morning.

Looming large in the City (Picture: Twitter/ mattspicer66 )

‘I’ve not been drinking. But there is a massive yellow rubber duck floating along the Thames. Honestly,’ said one user.

‘Well, the giant inflatable duck floating down the Thames is making ME happy,’ added another.